The Doomsday Clock, created by a group of scientists to represent how close mankind is to its own destruction, ticked one minute closer to midnight, or “doomsday,” Jan. 10, 2012. The group cited inadequate progress on nuclear weapons reduction and climate change as the reason for the change.

Destruction, according to The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists who created the clock in 1947, is primarily nuclear warfare. But in recent years, scientists have broadened the definition of destruction to include climate changing technologies and new developments in the life sciences.

When the clock was created, it was initially set at seven minutes to midnight. The last time the clock moved was in January 2010, when it read six minutes to midnight.

The group said of the recent movement of the clock: “Two years ago, it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued or been reversed.”

The scientists also said that the world leaders had failed to sustain the progress in nuclear disarmament. “The major global challenge now is a warmer climate that threatens to bring droughts, famine, water scarcity and rising seas,” said Allison Macfarlane, an associate professor at George Mason University, according to a recent Reuters article.

The Washington Post quoted Lawrence Krauss, co-chairman of the group’s board of sponsors on the decision to move the clock closer to midnight: “Faced with clear and present dangers of nuclear proliferation and climate change, and the need to find sustainable and safe sources of energy, world leaders are failing to change business as usual,” said Krauss.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (thebulletin.org) was established to raise awareness about nuclear weapons and is aimed at warning the public about the various catastrophic dangers they could face. The process of moving the clock forward or backward is a serious one, involving numerous meetings of board members and scientists. The discussion of moving the clock closes with a symposium in Washington, D.C.